


The Mentor

by AgentGreyNevada



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Accident, College, College Student, Crime, F/M, Hacking, Hitmen, Mentorship, amateur, i hate myself for writing this, idol, slow burn maybe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27193681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentGreyNevada/pseuds/AgentGreyNevada
Summary: After realizing she doesn't fit in with her collective, Grey attempts to navigate the world of hacking but gets into some deep shit that only our favorite vigilante can help her out of.
Relationships: Aiden Pearce/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. The Idol

**Author's Note:**

> Fucking christ. 
> 
> I just recently started playing Watch Dogs on Twitch (@Erin_Grey if interested) and now Aiden is my new Love of My Life(TM). Prepare for many self-insert fan fictions of me and him.

_...therefore, it is necessary to have a confidentiality agreement when you hire new employees. The information they access is private and personal to individuals, and breaking the contract can cost them their job..._

I sat in my one room apartment utterly bored to death by my ethics textbook. The lava lamp in the corner of the L-shaped space pulsed a calming blue glow as I struggled to stay awake, reading the chapter for tomorrow's class. I gave an audible sigh, leaning my head back in my chair and hearing the upper joints in my back pop. I was stiff - this class was going to be the death of me. 

I decided to move away from my wooden desk and over to the full sized bed behind me to watch some TV. The evening news would be on, and our professors were requesting we keep an eye and ear out for word about this vigilante guy - Aiden Pearce. Frankly I didn't know much, I wasn't sure what he had to do with our major or future employment. But if I wasn't going to read the next chapter in my Computer Ethics book, I might as well watch the news. 

The bed gave under my weight, allowing me to sink into the soft mattress as I reached for the remote nearby. Turning on the TV that hung on my wall, I lounged in my university branded sweatpants and a tank top, flipping through the channels before coming to the local news station: WKZ TV. A couple of my friends who were journalism majors were interning for the company so I was familiar with the name. I fiddled with my phone before my ears perked up: 

_"In other news, vigilante Aiden Pearce is at large within Chicago and surrounding areas, although people are looking to protect Pearce for all the work he's doing to stop crime. Chicago Police say that siding with Pearce can warrant further action."_

A man droned on about this vigilante and how he's possibly related to a hacking group known as DedSec. I've heard the names tossed around in numerous classes, but given what the news broadcast was saying, this screamed 'ethical dilemma' in my head, and I damn well knew it would be our topic of discussion tomorrow.

* * *

"So, who actually watched the news last night?" And yeah, I was right. Our professor stopped mumbling about our textbook readings to turn our attention to real life events. On my laptop I was half taking notes. 

A classmate raised their hand. "Yeah, that guy Aiden Pearce was mentioned, same with DedSec?" He answered with a question, wondering if that was what our professor was referring to. He responded with a nod before going on a tangent about the incidents: 

Since ctOS has been installed, city was at war with itself. The Chicago Police and government in one corner, saying how the ctOS is an improvement to people's lives, and DedSec in another, showing off how dangerous it could be to have people's information so accessible and 'out there'. It had been an internal struggle since the system had been installed a few years back, and the ctOS system itself was a hot topic in our classes. But now it was time to turn our attention to these hacker groups. 

"What does your book say about situations where valuable information can be leaked?" The professor asked. A girl in the back answered the question, reciting the book near perfectly. We were the only two females in our class. 

The professor went on and on about procedure and protocol before opening up the floor for a light debate/conversation. My one ear stayed open as I toyed with coding on my computer screen, disinterested in the conversation as I started to feel...unease. Everyone was essentially in agreement about how we, as future computer and IT professionals, shouldn't use private information in anyway unless working with that client. I, however, felt different. 

"Miss Nevada," The professor pulled me out of my daze and into the discussion. "You've been awfully quiet today. Well, in terms of speaking." He referred to my fingers rapidly typing lines of code into my laptop. I nervously stopped and rested my hands in my lap as a few students snickered. "Care to....indulge us in your ideas?" 

My eyes darted around the bleak, sterile white walls of the classroom, drumming up how to phrase the answer in my head. "Well...I heard that everyone is in agreement: don't use any private data ever, with the exception of using that data to help a customer only after they've proven their identity." The professor and a few other students within my eye sight nodded along to my summary. "But....why not? What if you're a banker and see that one of the clients isn't going to be able to pay their rent next month and you have _all_ of that information available. Shouldn't you phone them up and try to offer support?" 

"Well, being a banker is different-" 

"Okay, so we all want to computer jobs, right? What if have access to people's phones who are our clients in our tech company and we see threatening emails or messages. Can't we help them? _Shouldn't_ we help them-"

"Miss Nevada, I'll have to stop you right there." The professor put out a hand, signaling me to cease my words. "Even though with today's modern technology, that would seem like the morally right thing to do, but _ethically_ we can't." 

"They're the same thi-" 

"Uh uh, shh." He shushed me as I rolled my eyes. "You could get fired from your position, blacklisted in the field for misusing personal information. Would you really want that to happen?" He asked me directly. I sat still, silent, unable to muster any ounce of strength to say 'no' to his face. "That's what I thought." The professor stalked around the classroom, spouting out more scare tactic propaganda as my ears slowly turned off. I knew months ago I would hate this class, and here I was, hating it.

* * *

No one spoke to me after class. I assumed they didn't like my statement and didn't want to spark a debate with me without the professor to back them up. 

I trudged to my apartment complex, two blocks up from the university. On the way, I stopped at my favorite mini-mart to pick up a couple of comfort foods to cheer me up - a long night of gaming awaited me to walk me off the ledge of quitting school over _one_ class. A bag full of snacks later and I finished the journey, the bustling streets of downtown Chicago becoming one of my favorite ambient sounds. Then I heard a shout. 

"STOP! HELP!" I heard down an alley. Tucking my shoulder slung purse near me, I dipped into the alley to see what the commotion was about while hiding behind a stack of wooden pallets. A woman, struggling to continue her shouts was being put in a choke hold by a larger man. I gasped silently before attempting to step out to stop the assault from turning grim. Before I could, someone bolted past me in a brown trench coat and went straight for the attacker. The blonde woman stumbled to the ground, gasping for air as the trench coat man whipped out a tactical baton out of _nowhere_ and took the guy down in two hits. "Thank you sir!" The woman beckoned before the man put the baton away, looked at his phone and exited the alley the same way he came in. I got the smallest glimpse of his face, and I couldn't believe my eyes. 

It was the vigilante.

* * *

Instead of self indulging into hours of _Halo_ multiplayer to relieve frustration, I began researching. For the ethics class, we had a final presentation of presenting an ethical issue - whether it be a real life situation or falsified, present it to the class and what actions should be taken. I chose to do Aiden Pearce. 

For starters, basic search history showed all news articles about big hack jobs and tying his name into it, whether or not they had actual proof to show that he was involved. I groaned, eating Cheetos for dinner and decided to go on my torranted browser to see if I got anything else better from the search. And lo and behold, job listings started popping up. _I knew this VPN and Onion browser were so worth their money_ , I thought as I started digging deeper. He labeled himself as a 'fixer' online. A google search later provided me some results: 

_**'Fixer: A person who makes arrangements for other people, especially of an illicit or devious kind.'** _

"So....a merc for hire? But...maybe hacking?" I pondered aloud, eating another Cheeto with a tissue to prevent getting cheese grease all over my gaming keyboard. It still made me rather confused, but deeply more curious than before. He was a vigilante out to stop criminals, but the police are hunting him? For what purpose? 

I printed out a few pictures of his face to pin to my wall for my own devices. I'd have to ask around to see if anyone else had contact with him - it might be his saving grace in my case report.

* * *

The next few days were spent of me absent mindedly paying attention in class and gathering more data from strangers and colleagues alike about their interactions with Aiden and/or their views. My responses were quite interesting: 

_"Aiden....the vigilante? Yeah, he helped me out one too many times. For some reason, I kept winding up at the wrong place at the wrong time and BOOM he body checked the guys and I'd run free! I owe my life to him."_ \- Dylan, guy down the hall, pretty sure he's involved with a gang. 

_"Well...he does all the hacking, right? I don't like the idea of people looking at my information...or spying on me! We don't have fancy cameras in my house. It's good he's helping crime on the streets but STOP SPYING ON ME!"_ \- Paranoid old lady who lives in the retirement home that I volunteered for last year.

 _"Oh my gosh, Aiden is SO. CUTE. He can spy on me anyday!"_ \- Some girl in the rec center who heard me talking about the vigilante to someone else. 

All my responses followed a similar pattern: what Aiden was doing was a good thing, although the fact that he could spy on people was troubling. 

"That's what I'm saying!" I was on the phone with Mom after another long week. "Aiden isn't the _only_ guy who can hack the system. I mean, I can do it too if I really tried!" Mom had spent the last hour listening to me rant about the dilemmas of this week. Being 1500 miles away didn't help much either. All she could do was console me over the phone. 

"So, I think what I'll do is present the case with Aiden, but bring up the fact that ctOS is _so_ exposed that anyone can do this, not just him, so we shouldn't just hate on him because he's the more visible guy!" I was writing down my thesis as my mom explained her rationale, aligning with my view. After exchanging goodbyes, she left me to work on my research and I was well ahead of schedule. I was so proud with what I've done so far.

* * *

"Come on in, Grey." My professor welcomed me into his metallic smelling office after meeting with another student in our class. It was one on one week to learn about our proposed research topics. 

"Okay, I have so much to show you." Although I hated the class of Ethics, this project made me exhilarated to continue working. "So, I've already done some preliminary research-" 

"Slow down there, Grey." The professor cautioned with a half smile. "Tell me what your topic is, I'm glad to see you're excited about it." 

"I am indeed, Dr Cornwell," I nodded, closing my file of data and research. "So, I wanted to talk about Aiden Pearce." 

"Aiden....Pearce." His voiced became more dreary as he pronounced the vigilante's name. "I...why?" 

"Well...because he's a hot topic for the study of ethics, and I think it would be interesting to see a general stance on what citizens think of Pearce and evaluating his methodologies." I defended my topic like a doctoral student defending their final dissertation. 

Dr Cornwell drummed his fingers on his L-shaped desk before turning over to his computer with a heavy sigh. "I am....very wary of you picking him as your topic, given your most recent outburst in class." 

"Outburst...?" I mumbled quietly in question as he turned back to me. 

"Yes, your...opinions on ethics and how we as professionals should use the data we have access to. Doing Aiden Pearce as your research topic may...raise some questions with your classmates." 

"Okay, and?" I raised a brow. "None of them will be my employer when we graduate and I want to continue to have that open dialogue about Pearce. He's-" 

"Grey." He stopped me in my tracks. "As your professor, I highly recommend you pick a new topic. It would be...best for you and your future." 

I slouched, staring at the manila file folder in my hands. _This last week spent doing research...for nothing?_ I was unamused. 

"But...I'm actually really interested in-" 

"Grey." The professor stopped me once more. "As your advisor, I am telling you to change your topic." I tried to hide my eye roll as I stood up to leave without a word. "Have a nice day," He called as I left his office, a tear in my eye. I never wanted to quit school more than in that moment.

* * *

I had to stop myself several times from going to the registrar's office and ask to withdraw from the university while still on campus grounds. He made me so angry and irate that I nearly tripped and fell down the outside concrete stairs. A hand caught my bicep. 

"Watch your step, kid. Don't wanna break a nose." A deep, gravely voice spoke behind me as I turned. In the flesh stood Aiden Pearce, his sharp green eyes peering into my soul and a hint of a teasing smile on his lips. I shuddered, my lower jaw shaking as I clung my case file close to me along with a meteorology textbook for my science elective. 

"O-Oh...yeah." I mumbled quietly, averting my gaze to the brick path below my feet. "Thank you." 

"Of course." He gave a slight nod before briskly walking off, like he had somewhere important to be. His phone was in his hand. I felt my shoulders drop with a strong exhale of breath, watching him disappear into the crowd of students before ducking into a university alley. It made me wonder: how often did he come here?

* * *

That night was a depression night. I couldn't muster the focus to work on anything besides make microwave chicken strips for dinner and scrolling through Facebook. A few posts had caught my attention, claiming that they were 'saved' and 'lucky to be alive', all university students. And then the article popped up. 

_"Vigilante Aiden Pearce rumored to have stopped a school shooting at Chicago Institute of STEM (CIS) moments before the first shot"_

I couldn't believe what I was reading. 

I sifted the news release, having been published merely 45 minutes after I got back to my apartment from the university plaza. A student by the name of Ben Stirling, a sophomore, had brought a semi-automatic rifle to shoot up the plaza and was stopped by Pearce, being disarmed in front of a couple of students. Pearce, allegedly wearing a face covering, told a nearby student to call campus security immediately before fleeing the scene. I shuddered, sitting back in my wooden dining chair with a gaping mouth. _It...it was fate he was there. He stopped me from falling flat on my face before stopping students from getting killed._ I immediately went to print the article from my phone to add to the file. Even though I was being 'forced' to change topics, I was insistent on keeping this file. He was my idol. 


	2. The First Hack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I don't know how to hack things so I'm making it up as I go lol

I started obsessing over the news in the worst way possible. 

After having a load of classes each day, I'd come home to make some ramen or whatever frozen food I had handy and immediately went to my computer to check the daily local news on both Google and torranted browsers. I followed up on prior bigger news stories, like the school shooting and other big hack jobs that have been prominent on the torrant browsers. I sighed, resting my back on my chair. My mind kept churning on _how_ does he do it? Does he have a team, or does he work alone? Does he even have a degree in any sort of field? And it still bugged me why the police issued a warrant for him. 

Night after night, I would ponder those questions in my bed, the photos of his face that were online overlooking on my left hand wall. Having those images of him made me feel protected, even though the likelihood of him being nearby was slim to none. My mind would wander: Is he okay? Is he even _safe_? Does he have a place to go and rest and eat? Does he even eat food? Does he frequent regular civilian establishments or underground locations? 

These thoughts would often keep me awake at odd hours of the night, leaving me sleep deprived for classes as I would absent mindedly go about my day. The few friends I had would ask me why I was so tired. I responded simply with either working on job applications or a coding side project. Neither were true, but it kept them from asking more questions. 

The further I dug myself into this hole of who the hell was Aiden Pearce, I began wondering: couldn't I try hacking? If he could do it, certainly I could, and I had a _degree_ in the field. Well...almost. 

That weekend was spent doing VPN and torrant-access research on hacking and the programs needed. They were powerful, but nothing my gaming computer couldn't handle. My mind began churning in the process: would the university expel me for hacking into some random database for funsies? 

"No, they couldn't..." I mumbled to myself. "I mean, I'll make sure they won't know it's me." I was planning on a measly hack into the university's admissions database, just to test whether the software worked. I set a date and time - Sunday afternoon, right after maintenance updated the systems as part of their usual updates. I made sure to be ready.

* * *

After waking up with the morning news and some Keurig brewed tea, I sat in my gaming chair for the moment I've been waiting all night for: my first hack. 

On my laptop I had the directions typed out in language I would understand the easiest, while my two gaming monitors contained the programs needed to complete the hack job. I logged into my torranted browser and got to work. 

Plugging in numbers and data, I worked swiftly and double checked to make sure I wasn't missing any steps. Thankfully my coding classes came in handy when I saw lines of code on the screen, scanning it with my eyes to see what the hack program was doing. It was finding easy encrypted pathways to break through. 

I came to an admin login screen and nearly panicked. "Fuck." I mumbled quietly, referring to my notes to see what to do next, advising to switch over to the secondary program to hack into the login database to find personnel who works in admissions to use their username and password. Going into a private VPN browser, I searched for a few admissions counselor names to have them handy as I scoured the password list until I came to the first person: Jerry Riley. To not alert the user of a 'new username location', I pinged my IP address to his work computer before logging in with success. Soon, all of the applicant info was on my screen. 

A smile slowly spread across my face, seeing the success my efforts had led me. I felt a surge of adrenaline, putting my hands above my head to bring my heartrate back to normal before deciding the next course of action. I decided to poke around the database for a minute to see what I had access to. And it was a _lot_ of data.

"Shit....I'm....I'm a hacker!" I mumbled quietly to myself before backing out of the database and programs, returning my computers to their normal state. The rain poured outside my kitchen sink window as I gave a soft smile. 

I was ready for a bigger job.

* * *

The next week was midterms. I didn't study for them, but frankly I _never_ studied for midterms. I had rode the hacking high all week, and was preparing for my next trial run: Blume Corporation.

I heard mixed things about them in the media: they were misusing company information to spy and blackmail clients into doing illegal acts for them. I wanted to see if that was true. 

Friday afternoon I had no class - our professors cancelled to get a jump start into fall break. I couldn't be more pleased - it allowed me a full five days to compute this hack job, but it shouldn't take me more than a couple hours. 

I started with the basics: getting into their encrypted network with a bouncing IP address to not be traced, and then hacking into their password collection system. After finding the right employee - Barbara Hanks, senior representative of HR - I hacked into their database. And boy what I would was interesting. 

Email after email laid out devious plans on employees and clients alike. "Damn Barb, really getting shady here," I mumbled, reading through lines of text and documents sent from one person to another. _If the public knew about this, Blume would be done for._ I shook my head while biting my nail. After 20 minutes of snooping and taking notes, I shut down the applications and logged out, not wanting to spend too long in their systems. I returned to my normal Friday activities of playing video games and researching more on Aiden Pearce before realizing I was out of ingredients to make a proper meal. I decided to make a quick run to the local market before it got too dreary outside. 

If only I had the foresight to see how problematic that afternoon would become. 


	3. The Hit

The walk to the market was as miserable as the dreary skies above me. Sure, I just hacked into a decent sized company, but for some reason I had this ball of anxiety in my gut. I tried to identify where this rush of dread was coming from, but I couldn't pinpoint anything specific. I kept at a brisk pace, the hood of my jacket protecting my head from the misty skies. I was hoping that I would see the vigilante again out and about, my eyes glaring around me as different people past by, but no signs. My shoulders drooped in disappointment. 

I entered the busy open air market and started to peruse for my usual go-to's for food, consisting of chicken thighs and the cheaper cuts of beef they had available. As I maneuvered through the crowd, I stopped suddenly, gut lurching. I had this sudden fear that I was being followed. 

Turning, I looked behind me. Aside for other shoppers in the market, minding their own business and a few businessmen near the entrance from where I came, I didn't see anyone out of place. I looked up to the cameras, curious if they could be hacked into. Unfortunately, I had no program on my phone for that, so I sighed and continued about my shopping, however the anxiety didn't settle. 

To help ease my brain, I decided to leave the market and head to a less crowded area outside. The rain was still spitting as I eased my chest, taking in the fresh air downtown Chicago could produce. I let my face look up at the sky, allowing it to get peppered in water vapor as I stretched my arms down to the ground, feeling a release of tension through my shoulders and chest. My sense of tranquility ended abruptly when I looked back down to my surroundings. 

A man in a posh suit and sunglasses was standing nearby. With the glasses, I couldn't tell if he was looking directly at me, but I still felt a pierce into my soul. I took a sharp gasp of air before using my better judgement and briskly walked away. My apartment complex wasn't far, I kept to the main streets and walkways and stuck to crowds. Occasionally I would look behind, and I could see the man still following me. 

"Fuck." I grunted, coming to the parking garage connected to my building. I ascended the stairs up to the third level where my old Civic was parked, hoping he wouldn't follow any further and that I lost him in the crowd. I let out a sigh of relief as I pulled out my car keys. 

"Hey kid." I heard someone call as I was unlocking my car. I looked up to see the same man who was outside the market. His hand was under his coat. 

I feared the worst and got into my car as he pulled out a gun. 

I quickly turned it on, frantically put on my seat belt and threw my car into reverse as he shot my driver's side door. The bullet didn't go through but I screamed at the sound it produced. The car screeching, I pulled out of my spot and started driving out of the garage as he continued to shoot at my car. I had no idea who he was or why he was after me. 

I exited the garage to notice a black SUV following behind me after I made a few turns down well known avenues. "Fuck me, are you serious?" I grunted aloud, cutting off another driver as I tried to maneuver through different intersections to lose the car on my tail. As much as I knew downtown Chicago in terms of walking, driving was a different story. I was going to get lost. 

And no matter where I went and how many turns I made, they stayed with me, nearly running over pedestrians and running red lights to keep up. I wasn't abiding by speed limits or stop signs either, but I was desperate to get away. 

Suddenly, a light in front of me changed from red to green, however cars from both sides of the intersection merged with each other, creating a giant pile up in front of me. I quickly swerved to make a right hand turn to get onto the Loop's highway and out of the downtown city. _I might be able to lose them in afternoon traffic,_ I thought as I pressed the pedal to the floor, accelerating and following the highway signs for Brandon Docks. I kept looking in my rearview as I drove, but that SUV was still keeping up. I shook my head before the highway turned into a main road going through the Docks. 

Another SUV came through the intersection to body slam my car. The tires screeched as I maintained control of the vehicle and sped away, now having two cars on my tail. I was starting to panic. I wasn't sure what they wanted or who they worked for, but I was terrified that the one was willing to shoot me off the bat, no questions asked. 

As I sped to another intersection on the outer border of the district, a gate opened up suddenly that led into a shipping yard with warehouses. I took it as a sign from Fate and drove through the gate, staying on the roads and veering off into dirt roads if necessary. I wound up near what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse as one of the men shot at my tires from his rolled down window. My back tire gave first as another car sped up next to mine, veering me into a brick wall. I slammed into it, the airbags going off as I crashed forward. 

Their SUVs screeched to a halt nearby as I struggled to get my bearings. I saw my life flash before my eyes as I attempted to get out of the car discreetly. Shattered glass was all over my lap and I tasted blood in my mouth as I shoved the door open, falling to the gravel ground below me. 

Three suited men stood before me with pistols, all ready to shoot me. "Who do you work for?" The younger man spoke. He couldn't be older than 23, 24. 

"N-No one...." I sputtered, spitting up blood and holding my gut. I don't think a bone was broken, but I definitely had some cuts on my leg and face which stung like hell. The young man came and kicked me over before placing a foot on my neck. 

"I'm not going to ask again. Who do you work for?" He demanded once more. I struggled to breathe as I heard him cock his gun. 

_Bang._


	4. The Savior

I felt a sudden weight lift off my neck as the guy standing above me fell down, bleeding from the head. He had been shot once. 

The other two men took their attention off me to look around at their immediate surroundings of shipping crates and chain linked fences to see where the shooter came from. I took the opportunity to try and disappear into the warehouse. I grunted, hiding behind my wrecked car as rain started to pour down. The men started to shout and I peered around my car to see what was happening. 

A man emerged from the warehouse adjacent to the one next to me, a mask over his face and a phone and SMG in hand. He pressed a button on his phone, causing a grate below the one man to explode, leaving the other one to start shooting. The man dodged before covering behind a protector that magically folded up to provide that protection. He sent me a quick flick of the eye before firing at my pursuer. His emerald eyes gave him away: It was the vigilante. 

My chest fluttered. He saved me not only once but twice. I heard the two face off as I decided to flee into the warehouse. I pondered deeply as the gunshots faded: why was he here? Was he also after me? 

My paranoia kicked in as I bolted through the warehouse, unaware if the vigilante was actually following me or if that was my delusion. But after I stopped hearing my heartbeat in my ears, I heard footsteps. Rapidly approaching footsteps. 

"Oh _fuck,_ " I grunted, trying to run faster but the pain in my leg prevented me from doing so as I winced and slowed my speed unintentionally. I soon felt a hand grip my bicep before slamming me into a nearby shipping container. 

"Miss....Grey Nevada." He peered down at his phone. "Age: 22. Occupation: College student at Chicago Institute for STEM, degree field in Computer Science." I felt his breath on the back of my neck. "Sound right?" 

I muffled, not wanting to give a direct answer to him to affirm that he was correct. It was _creepy_ how he knew all of that from simply looking at his phone. 

"What, don't want to tell me I'm right?" I heard a smirk in his voice as I tried to shove him off me, but he only retaliated by pushing me back into the metal container. 

"Let me go!" I begged, my breath shaking as I had high anxiety and it made it hard to breathe when it would surface. 

"Who hired you?" He spoke aggressively while having a tight hold, pinning my face into the metal. I whined, trying to push away again but he was far too strong. 

"No one!" I repeated, nearly on the verge of tears as I wiggled my body. His upper body strength kept me from getting out of his grip, using one hand to hold my twisted arm behind me and his legs and torso to keep me pinned between him and the container. "I-It was an accident I swear!" I screamed, afraid for my life. 

"An....accident." He repeated my words slowly, his gravely voice the way I remembered from two weeks ago. "Explain." 

"I-I just...." I swallowed the guilt in my throat. "I-I wanted to learn how t-to hack a-and I hacked Blume t-to test my skills and....i-it wasn't intentional I swear...." I cried, big tears running down my dirty, bloody face as I felt him release all pressure from my body and I fell over onto my side. He peered over me, his tactical baton and phone in hand, his mask lowered. His gaze was still piercing, but it had a softer glow to it. "H-How did you find me?" 

"I have my methods." His lip curled, almost into a smirk before pocketing his phone. "You realize that hacking is a dangerous game, yes?" 

"I-I didn't know, I-I-" 

"Miss Grey." His voice was still stern but had a ring of care and concern to it. "This....underground stuff? Not meant for civilians like yourself. You shouldn't be meddling in internal systems." 

"But Mr Pearce," I pleaded, using his actual name. He was rather taken back that I referred to him by name. "I-I'm just..." 

"Just what?" He took a step towards me, towering over my trembling frame. 

"...bored..." 

"Bored." He repeated before kneeling to be closer to my eye level, but still in an offensive position in case he needed to move. Aiden grunted to his adjusted position, his arms draped nicely over his knees. "Why are you bored?" 

"I just...I dunno...I don't like my classes...wish I could quit but I can't..." Aiden pulled out his phone once more and was silent for a few minutes. 

"Let's see....Grey Amelia Nevada...pretty name, by the way...so a near straight A student. Very impressive..." He started rattling off the courses I've taken within the last year and my current class list as I realized: he hacked into our student portal. 

"Hey what the fuck!" I tried to swipe for his phone but he whipped out his tactical baton and rested the tip on my forearm, not even glancing up from his device. I slumped back down, realizing I was powerless in this situation. 

"Now, you're on track to graduate on time with a very high demand degree and two minors. _Why_ are you bored?" He finally put his gaze back on me, his emerald eyes holding curiosity. 

"I...I hate my ethics professor..." My voice turned dreary, the tear streaks on my cheeks having run dry. "He's so insistent that only his viewpoint is correct...he won't even let me touch any ethical dilemma that interests me..." 

"Where _do_ you stand on the ethical issues regarding client information?" Aiden inquired lightly. I never thought I would be in a position to basically have a light hearted counseling session with the vigilante in the flesh. 

I began to explain my thought process, doing my best to put myself in the best light possible to not come off as some sociopath. I walked him through my thinking down to the nittiest detail, describing how I'd like to help people with my skills and not push them away simply because I signed a contract saying I can't use their information for anything other than what they need me to do. 

After I gave a long exhale when I was done speaking, Aiden stayed quiet, pondering. His gaze shifted to around the warehouse surrounding us before humming. 

"You have...quite a different stance on ethics." He spoke slowly, almost as if he was coming to terms with something in his mind. I nodded. 

"Yeah...pretty sure everyone in my graduating class thinks I'm 'weird' now..." I groaned, looking away. I soon felt a hand on my thigh where my cuts were and hissed. 

"Hey," Aiden was closer, kneeling next to my side. "I don't want to hurt you." 

"Well...you did save me. So I suppose I owe you a thank you." I grunted, now on my back with my elbows propping me up as he examined my wound with wandering eyes. 

"You don't need to thank me. It's my job to protect civilians." Aiden didn't look at me. "I do, however, appreciate your honesty with me about how the events transpired." 

I nodded with a furrowed brow. "Yeah, of course." I could never bring myself to lie to him. He could easily hurt me if he wanted to. Or fuck up my life with his hacking skills. 

"Let me take you home." He stood up with his offer. "Your wound doesn't need hospital medical treatment, but some alcohol and a few bandages. I figure you'd want to do that in your own home." My heart skipped a beat. _Is he...actually going to come into my apartment? Did I clean? Fuck I hope my laundry isn't everywhere..._

I nodded. "O-Okay," He reached out his partially cloth covered hand to help me stand up. Taking it, I grunted onto my feet, a tad wobbly as he braced his body to my weight. I didn't want to cling to him, not wanting to appear desperate for his attention. 

"If you need to use me as a crutch, that's fine." He invited as I felt his arm go around the backside of my waist for support. I quickly obliged, finding that my thigh was on fire and making it difficult to walk. He didn't seem bothered by the weight I was putting on him, but he walked with me at my pace. 

"Thank you," I mumbled quietly before giving a sharp inhale. My leg was not happy. 

"I'm glad I could help, Miss Grey." I found it humorous how he referred to me as such, even though I should be calling him Mr. Pearce. He looked to be at least 10 years older than me, maybe more. His face didn't show that much sign of aging. "Blume is notorious for having silent alarms within their internal systems. A fixer friend of mine picked up on it, and he wanted me to investigate." 

"Were....you also going to hurt me?" I questioned, my eyes glassy. Aiden produced what sounded like a chuckle. 

"I don't hurt people unless if I need to. I only wanted to talk. Your profile suggested nothing malicious, even in your deep records." I could assume he was referring to background checks and bank statements and online profiles. "I was going to confront you right at your apartment complex however...other events occurred." Aiden referred to the hitmen after me. 

"And...I assume you followed?" 

"I wanted to get you out of the city and to a place where I could easily defend and ward off your pursuers. Thankfully you took the bait." 

I squinted before realizing-

"You opened the gate to this ship yard, didn't you." I looked over to him and he had a wide smirk on his face. 

"Glad to see you have a good head on your shoulders, Miss Grey. That'll be very useful in your future." He walked me up to another vehicle that was parked behind the second abandoned warehouse. Opening the door for me, he let me move at my own speed to sit in the passenger seat before closing the door and coming around to the driver's side. 

"Is this your car?" I asked. 

He stayed silent as he turned it on. 

"I'm going to assume no." 

"Good assumption." He spoke with that signature gravel in his voice as he drove off the lot and back onto the main roads. The car's navigation system already had my address plugged in and he followed the directions carefully to get me home. He stayed silent, even when the news anchor would talk about him. Once we crossed the bridge and were in The Loop of Chicago, he broke the silence. 

"Do you promise me you won't hack again?" 

I was startled, I wasn't thinking he would bring this up again. I was unsure of how to answer as we pulled into a red light. I glanced over to see him looking at me in the eyes. "Well? Do you promise me?" 

"I...Mr Pearce I..." 

"Call me Aiden. You make me sound old." We both got a genuine chuckle from that exchange before he moved through the intersection when the light turned green. 

"Well it's not like I know your age..." I rebutteled, but saw his smile fade. He wanted a commitment to his ask. "I...I'll try not to." 

"You won't just try. You _will not_ hack again. Do I make myself clear?" He spoke sternly, almost like a father scolding his daughter. I gave a heavy sigh. 

"...yeah, I promise I won't..." I sounded disappointed with what he wanted from me, but it made sense. He was trying to protect me, after all. The rain was still coming down, but not as bad as earlier and Aiden carefully maneuvered through the traffic of evening downtown Chicago. I appreciated him being attentive. 

I didn't recognize my apartment complex as he drove into the parking garage and up to the third level. Parking in my spot, he stopped the vehicle and turned it off before coming over to help me out. I grunted, everything seemed so surreal in that moment. Sighing, I got out of the car. Aiden kept his head low, his ballcap helping to cover his face from the cameras. 

"Let me walk you to your apartment." He spoke after the minutes of silence. I looked over to him with confusion. "I just want to make sure you get in okay." 

"Okay." I mumbled, appreciating his odd concern over me, but I didn't protest. I entered the building and led him down the bleak white hallway to my room number. Good old 1308. 

Peering over my shoulder at Aiden, who was now leaned against the wall about six feet away, I reached for the door handle. It was unlocked. 

I quickly repelled my hand as Aiden took a defensive position. 

"You locked the door when you left, correct?" He whispered with the gravel still present in his throat. I nodded in response as he pulled out a pistol and lightly pushed me out of the way. His ear was to the door before he whipped it open, swinging his gun around at any potential attackers. I stepped inside as he checked my bathroom. I fell to my knees. 

My apartment was completely wrecked. Furniture was overturned, picture frames were broken, and the worst of all: they took all of my electronics and class notes. Aiden emerged from the bathroom slowly, having heard me fall to the ground. "Grey...I'm so sorry." 

I tried my hardest not to cry in front of him, but having my life destroyed was weighing on my mind way too much to allow me to sit back and swallow my feelings. My hands covered my face as I struggled to breathe. I heard Aiden walk around me to shut the door to my disaster of an apartment before I felt his presence next to me. He had knelt down and a hand was on my back. "I didn't think Blume would go after you so intensely." 

I couldn't respond to the vigilante, my heart having been shattered into a million pieces. I felt Aiden's hands on my shoulders as he lightly pulled me back into a seated position instead of on my knees, which unaware to me, was causing more damage to the wounds on my leg. If I was going to sob uncontrollably, might as well be comfortable. 

I wasn't sure how long we sat in silence. I believed Aiden was waiting for me to calm down enough to ask me more questions. But he didn't move from my side. Not once. He probably had better things to do - like stopping more petty crimes, but here he was, consoling me. _Am I special or something or is he only doing this out of respect?_

"Did you have classwork on those computers?" He asked, his voice soft and as gentle as he could make it. I sniffled with a nod. 

"Everything. Games, personal documents, pictures, school work..." I rubbed my eyes, hoping I wouldn't break out into another round of crying. His hand had moved around my upper back, holding my bicep and holding me close to his chest, but allowing me enough space to move and feel comfortable as needed. 

Aiden pondered for what felt like hours before speaking again. 

"I will help you get your stuff back. And your sense of security." He could easily assume that I no longer felt safe in my apartment, and he assumed correctly. 

"W-Where am I gonna go?" I whined with a hiccup. "I-I got....nowhere..." 

"You can stay with me." He answered almost immediately. "It may not be...the most convenient spot for you, or the most comfortable, but you _will_ be safe there." 

"Please..." I pleaded, looking at him with glassy eyes. I would admit, it was going to feel weird sharing a space with the infamous Chicago vigilante, but it was my only option. I couldn't afford to pay for another lease in a different building. 

"Alright. Then let's get going." 


	5. The Sleepover

I had gathered some of my more personal possessions that weren't taken from me and shoved them into a duffel, including some clothes, toiletries and whatever remained of my school supplies in my backpack. Aiden occupied himself so he wasn't staring over my shoulder as I rooted through my underwear drawer. At the end of it, I had two duffel bags and a backpack. He even offered to carry the duffels for me, to which I obliged to his kindness. 

"Are you usually this kind to people?" I asked as we walked back out to his 'car' that definitely was NOT his car. I couldn't hear if he laughed to that question, but he made some sort of noise. 

"Do you consider me being kind when I stop civilians from petty crimes?" He looked up to me, rounding his side of the car to put the duffels behind his seat. I shrugged. 

"I meant like...doing stuff like _this._ " I gestured in whole at the situation. "You're offering your place to me, you saved my ass _twice_ now-" 

"When was the first time?" He squinted, pulling out his phone as he got into the car with me to follow. I buckled in as he started the car. 

"The school shooter. You stopped me from falling flat onto concrete before you took down the guy who had the gun on campus." I recalled easily. It still felt like that incident happened yesterday. Aiden nodded in remembrance as he pulled out of the slot. 

"Ah yeah, I remember that. You were in a total daze." He snorted, carefully driving out of the parking garage. "Good thing I stopped you from tripping over your feet." 

I gave a small smile before it faded. "Yeah...I was uhm...debating withdrawing from the university that day." 

"Because of your ethics course?" Aiden filled in the blank as I nodded. 

"Kinda. The ethics professor wanted me to change research topics, even though the topic I chose was definitely an ethical dilemma." 

"What was the topic?" 

I went stone cold silent. I didn't think he would ask. 

"...well?" He pressed after my sudden silence lasted more than a minute. We were on the highway leading to Parker Square. I didn't think he would live all the way out here, but I reckoned crime happened anywhere. 

"I...uh..." I couldn't find the words before Aiden started laughing. 

"Did you...were you researching me?" He glanced over with sparkling eyes. They seemed full of life and excitement. 

My silence spoke volumes as he rolled to a red light. 

"...I didn't take you for a superfan." He had a light smirk on his face as I was blood red from a blush. 

"I-I...look," I tried to stand firm but it made him produce the _cutest_ giggle as he covered his mouth with his hand. 

"I saw part of your wall." He admitted. He couldn't help but _not_ look around my apartment. He rarely got to do that besides through spying with the camera system. "You had a couple of news photos of me." 

"I...yeah..." I slumped down as he followed the speed limit through town. "It started off as just...research but...I guess I was just...trying to find out who you were. Like what you hide from everyone." 

Aiden nodded as he pulled into a motel parking lot. I furrowed my brow. 

"You _live_ here?" 

He didn't speak as he got out of the car and grabbed my duffels. 

"Is that a yes?" 

"You're smart, Grey. Use that to your advantage." He shot me a glare with a slight smirk. _God damn, why is he so cryptic???_

I followed him up a set of stairs, clinging to the handrailing as he showed me to his room. It was dark and rather spacious. He had a large table with a projector and two computers hooked up, showing a wall of leads and photos. It looked straight out of a crime show. Shutting the door behind me, I stayed out of his way as he cleared off the floral couch with his clothing and tactical gear. I shivered, feeling a draft. This place was _old._

"There," He called over to me, turning the light next to the couch on. I wasn't expecting to share a bed with him, but the couch looked super uncomfortable. I started feeling home sick. 

I slunk over to the couch, setting my school bag on the ground and kicked my shoes off before laying down. I didn't feel well. 

"Want me to look at your wounds?" He inquired quietly, glancing over me as I laid there, completely void of a will to live. He waited a minute for me to speak, in which I didn't, then he took the matters into his own hands. Literally. 

"OW!" I yelped upon feeling something burning against my leg. I shot up to see Aiden on his knees next to me, disinfecting my wound with a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a cloth in the other. He seemed unfazed by my screech. 

"I know it hurts." He spoke quietly, with maybe 5% of care in his voice. I think he wanted to tell me to 'suck it up', but refrained from doing so out of wanting to be decent. I hissed, gripping a pillow as he finished wiping the blood from my scratches. "I also have to do your face." 

"No." I instantly denied. 

"Grey." 

"But it _hurts_." 

"...do you think being a hacker comes with no pain?" He raised a brow at me, my little naive brain unable to comprehend that this is probably what he goes through on a daily basis. I sighed before sitting up in defeat, letting him clean off my dirty face with a sulk. He tisked with a smirk. "Oh come now, it's not that bad." 

"Yes it is-OW MOTHER FUCKER-" 

"I hope you don't kiss your mother with that mouth." Aiden was having way too much fun with this. I sent him a death glare which he met with a slightly cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes before closing them. "Why the tears?" He suddenly asked. I didn't even know I was crying. 

"Huh? Oh...probably a pain response..." I automatically assumed that was the first reason I would cry, but everything was taking its toll on me. My body needed to let it out somehow. I kept my eyes closed for a long time, not realizing he was dressing my leg wounds. 

"This is going to be a weird ask," He started with pension in his throat, "But I need you to take off your pants." 

My cheeks burned bright red. 

"What?" 

"You heard me the first time." 

I blinked at him, thinking he was fucking with me. But when his face didn't change to show that, I gaped my mouth. 

"I-" 

"So I can properly dress your wounds." He clarified. "I should've stated that." 

"You _should_ have." I went to remove my belt and then my jeans, realizing that these were my favorite pair and probably never be able to get another pair of them again. Slowly sliding them off, I discarded them to the floor next to me, my cheeks a dark red. 

"Don't worry, I'm not a pervert." Like _that_ would calm my anxiety. Rolling my eyes, I looked away, letting him manipulate my leg as needed to wrap the gauze around it. We were both quiet as he worked. 

I soon felt something drape over my lower half. It was his brown, leather trench coat - the inside still warm and laid against my legs. He took it off. "Aiden, why-" 

"I don't have a whole lot here. I assumed you'd rather have _something_ covering you than nothing at all." He adjusted, still on his knees as he looked at me eye level. "Your face, please." 

Moving, I sat up, legs hanging over the edge of the couch with his jacket covering them as he looked at the scratch on my face. "I don't think you'll need stitches, but try not to do anything...exaggerated." 

"Oh, so no bad sarcastic facial expressions?" I furrowed my brow and Aiden responded with a chuckle, standing up. 

"...you know what I mean." His face held a smile before he wandered away to wash his hands. I laid back down on the couch. "Try to get some rest. You've had a long day." 

Nodding, I curled up under his trench coat which almost fit my entire body. I soon felt something else draped over me. A blanket, colder than his jacket but fully covered me. I don't know how long it was, but I passed out quickly.

* * *

I shot awake, sweat dripping down my body and my breath heavy. I felt my chest instinctively for my heart rate. It was pounding, almost out of my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I sulked over my legs, feeling the shirt I wore the day before slightly damp. I felt disgusting. 

Blinking, I looked around to get a sense of my surroundings. My memory was hazy, but I remembered the vaguest of details: I was chased and rescued by the vigilante who brought me to his home to recover. I quickly looked for him. 

The motel room was dark and dreary, the rainstorm from yesterday droning on outside, the wind battering against the walls and roof. My eyes adjusted after some time to the low light levels and found a mound in the bed. It must've been him. 

I felt my eyes start to well. The pain in my leg returned at a decent throb, and the paranoia: People wanted me _dead_. I couldn't help but whimper, curling my one knee to my chest and letting a few tears roll down my face. My gaze flickered to Aiden, who hadn't moved from his sleeping position at the noise I was making. I suddenly didn't feel safe on my couch island. I needed to be closer. 

Looking around, I wanted to find a new shirt to wear. I peeled off my jacket, plaid button up and bra and tossed them to the floor. I eyed a neat pile of clothes that was on the side table next to me with a bottle of water. I assumed Aiden laid those out for me for the morning. I pawed through the clothes to find a plain black shirt and slipped it on. It was about two sizes too big, but there wasn't much I could go. I could also assume he didn't want to rummage around in my bags for my clothes. 

I carefully tiptoed to his bed, a mere 10 feet away. I had to limp due to the pain still in my upper leg, making it difficult to be discreet and quiet. I knelt on the corner of the full sized bed. 

"A-Aiden?" I whispered before he flung a gun at my face. I yelped, falling off the bed and onto my ass on the carpeted floor. Aiden panted before realizing it was me and set the gun back under his pillow. 

"Grey I'm so sorry..." He instantly came over to my side. "I've lived alone for so long, it's hard to break habits." I nodded to his reasoning, seeing the gun in my face causing my anxiety to spike. Aiden knelt next to me, his hands on my shoulders to comfort. I eyed his body - he was still mostly clothed, having worn his blue jeans and socks to bed along with a fitted tank top. I guessed he didn't want to make me uncomfortable, or be prepared for anything. I missed his question. 

"Grey." He lightly shook me. "Are you okay?" 

"Huh?" I gazed up at him with glassy eyes as I felt his warm hand against my cheek. 

"I asked if you were okay. You woke up at 3am." 

"...I had a nightmare...." I mumbled, looking away. I could almost hear Aiden thinking inside his head. 

"Would sleeping next to me help?" 

I didn't even get a chance to respond since my brain was on autopilot and I felt him pick me up. I yelped again, quieter this time as he laid me on the unoccupied side of the bed. The covers were pulled back as he rounded to get in on his side. I laid there, frozen. 

"You know I'm right here, right?" His groggy, gravely voice was close to my ear. I turned my head to see his emerald eyes two feet from me. "I will _not_ let anything happen to you, do you understand?"

Feeling my chest ache from anxiety, I nodded slowly in response as he pushed himself under the covers and moved close to me to show he was there. And he was not leaving my side. 


	6. The Trial

I came to slowly. Sun streamed through the singular window in the tiny motel room. I had forgotten where I was for a brief moment, until something jogged my memory. 

I was laying on Aiden's chest. 

I scurried off him, worried he would find that inappropriate when he would wake. With the new morning light, I was able to study his face a little more closely. 

He seemed so relaxed, so still. He didn't seem to notice mid-slumber that I had moved away from him. His jaw was riddled with brown, grey and white stubble, and he had very minor scarring, which was surprising given his occupation. He even slept with his ball cap on. What a precious man. 

I sat there awkwardly on my side of the bed, my thigh still hurting from the events of yesterday. It took me a minute to realize that today was _Saturday_ and I had a whole four days before classes would resume. I pondered what I should do with this time: _Well, for one I have to figure out transportation to the university. We're all the way out in Parker Square, and I no longer have a car. I could maybe train in everyday? But that costs money, and my job doesn't pay for a whole lot...would Aiden be willing to help? I mean, I really don't know what he can do for me, well...I_ do _know what he could do for me but all of those options sound illegal. But the bigger issue...I'm being pursued. Are these fuckers gonna show up while I'm in class? It's gonna be hard to excuse myself from lecture all the time, and the anxiety...god damn, how does Aiden deal with the stress?!_

"Oh, you're awake." I whipped my head over my shoulder, hearing his groggy voice come to life. Aiden shifted under the sheets so he was now sitting up, rubbing the sleep sand from his eyes with a yawn. 

"Yeah...uh...just woke up." I cleared my throat - it usually needed a few minutes of speaking for it to be fully functional, so I sounded like a broken frog. He stretched upwards, I heard a few joints in his back pop as he produced a groan.

"I trust you slept well after me nearly shooting you?" He tried to make light of the vivid jumpscare of last night: having a gun pointed at me at point blank range. I chuckled once before turning my head to the floor, assessing how my body felt. My leg was still recovering, it was sore and tender, I probably shouldn't move it much. My brain felt foggy, and I couldn't tell if it's because I just woke up, sleeping in a new place or the events of yesterday. All of the above was also a viable option.

"I...I'm not sure." I didn't want to fully lie, but I didn't want to lead on that I was fully alright. "Just...foggy, and sore." 

"Sore is expected." I felt the weight shift on the bed, he stood up to come around to my side. Kneeling before me, he carefully unbandaged my leg to take a look. "It seems to be healing alright. Best to take it easy today." He discarded the old dressings and grabbed the box of clean, fresh ones to re-wrap it. I kept avoiding eye contact. 

"Yeah, I figured." I mumbled, clearing my throat once more as I let him maneuver my leg how he needed to. Soon enough, the cuts were covered and the box was tucked away. 

"Breakfast?" Aiden soon inquired, lifting his ballcap up to fix his hair underneath. 

"Uhm..." Before I could verbally protest, my stomach spoke for me. "...I guess I'm hungry." 

"I bet. You haven't eaten since...when, yesterday morning?" Aiden calculated the time difference in his head as he fetched his trench coat from the couch. I saw him eye the clothes I took off last night for a moment before he brought his attention back to me. "What do you like?" 

"Uhm...I'll eat any breakfast food, really. Except French toast sticks." I stayed where I was on the bed, wrapping my good knee to my chest with my arms. He came back over to pick up his phone before he lingered once more. 

"Why don't you come with me?" He suddenly asked, staring down at me with his piercing gaze. It nearly gave me chills. 

"Shouldn't I be resting?" I rebuttaled, using his own logic. He bobbed his head from shoulder to shoulder in thought before quickly coming up with his rationale. 

"For one, fresh air is good for the mind." He gestured to the motel room. "You don't really get much fresh air here. Two, you'll stay in the car. I'll just run inside and grab food for us. And three? The company would be nice." I couldn't tell if he was kidding on the last point, but the first two were sound in my mind. I sighed audibly. 

" _Fine,_ I'll go with you. Let me just get changed first." I moved to stand, already wobbly and off balance as he grabbed my arm and braced my back with his other hand. 

"Careful. I don't need you getting injured in my own home." I heard Aiden chuckle softly as I grunted, stabling myself against him. I let go and grabbed ahold of my duffel bag, rooting through it for a bra, clean underwear and a random shirt and pair of pants. "I recommend sweat pants. We don't need to irritate your wound more." 

I nodded to his comment before shuffling across the space to the bathroom. Surprisingly, it was pretty tidy for a man in his mid-30s I reckoned to keep it. Shutting the door, I looked around. The sink was small, his toothbrush and razor along the back wall of the counter. There was a window opposite of the door - the shade was busted. That was where all the sunlight was coming from. The shower didn't look the most appealing, having some stray hairs near the drain and potential mold growing around the edge. My heart sunk - I didn't think I could miss my apartment more than I did right now. 

Placing my clothes in a jenga-like fashion on the top of a towel that I _assumed_ was the cleanest surface in the bathroom, I quickly used the toilet before stripping out of my clothes. I took a gander at myself in the mirror. My skin was oily, I would definitely need to shower soon. My hair was in a mess up in a bun, also oily. I couldn't imagine what rat's nest I'd be stumbling into the next time I brushed it. My eyes were still void of happy stars, I still looked like I was fearing for my life. But I _was_ fearing for my life, even if it wasn't an active thought in the moment. Sighing, I pinched my grumbling belly and flicked at my biceps. I always had bad body image - I was physically healthy but I never felt strong enough. Being in a male-dominated field didn't help the cause, I often felt the need to make myself appear more masculine and _tough_ in order to survive and make friends with my classmates. I sulked with a disappointed hum before carefully removing articles of clothing from my jenga tower and slipped them on. Of course I pulled the wrong sized bra out of my bag. It was my luck. 

Feeling like the day was already at a rock bottom, I exited the bathroom in a pair of university-branded sweatpants and a tank top, bearing the name _Dot ConneXion_ in a cool, audio wave style. Aiden was off to the side, looking at his crime map wall. "What...is all this?" I asked meekly, my mental talk-down in the bathroom not helping in my own personal interactions with _the_ vigilante. It probably wasn't long before he realized I wasn't as tough as I made myself out to be. 

"...nothing relevant to you." He responded after sometime. "Ready?" He quickly steered the subject away from the wall as he grabbed his phone once more and tossed me a hoodie. "The rain made it cold outside." I threw on the black hoodie, immediately recognizing as one of mine from my backpack. I had shoved it in on top, I wonder what made him grab it, let alone _know_ where it was? 

"Thanks," I mumbled, smoothing it out, dawning the logo of the university's coding team. Aiden waited by the door, not in a particular rush as I threw on a set of sneakers I also tucked into the second-to-last pocket of my backpack. I always kept them there in case of an emergency. Slowly bringing myself to stand, I slung my cross-body purse over my chest and came to the door, which was now opened for me by Aiden. "Thanks...again." 

"No problem." He shut the door behind the both of us, and led me down the stairs to the car that was _totally_ his. I suddenly had a weird gut feeling - this outing was more than what he made it out to seem.

* * *

"Alright Grey, what do you want?" We rolled into the parking lot of a bagel shop downtown Parker Square. Aiden passed me his phone when we pulled in, displaying their menu. I took it from him. The first thing that struck me was how polished the phone felt. No cracks, no chips, no signs of stress. Humming, I scrolled through the menu - I rarely ate off university grounds so this was a new experience for me. Aiden had turned the car off so we weren't idling forever as I took my time. He seemed to exercise so much patience - was it because he was used to working with civilians or was I a special case? 

"I'll take an egg, bacon and cheese on a plain bagel, and...could I also get a large hot chocolate too?" I asked, passing him his phone. 

"Of course." He had a hint of delight in his voice as he tapped the phone a few more times before sighing. "It'll be ten minutes or so." 

I blinked. "Then...why didn't we order when we were at the motel?" 

He simply shrugged. "I...figured I could teach you somethings while we were here." He shifted his gaze from out the front car window to me. I blinked again. 

"What do you mean? I'm in no position to fight." I gestured to me leg as he furrowed his brow. 

"...not like that." He held up his phone again before holding his other hand out to me. 

"...what?" 

"Give it to me. It'll only be a moment." 

"Give _what_ to you, my hand in marriage?" I cracked as a joke with the most serious tone ever. He shot me a look, hitting my anxiety nerve. "...here." I slid him my phone in defeat as he quickly worked his hacker magic. Not even ten seconds later, my phone emitted a small blip as he passed it back. 

"I added a couple of apps to your phone. I assume you have a VPN on that thing?" Aiden asked, looking around at the outside world as people passed by on the street. 

"Uh, not connected to my phone, no." I answered meekly. His detest to my joke really had me feeling anxious. "Look, I'm sorry about the joke-" 

"Okay, we'll use mine." It's like he didn't even _hear_ me. Leaning over the center console, he opened one of the apps. It was similar in layout to when I would hack a system with my computer, but it was more...live. "See all these connections? These are all the linked devices we can access through ctOS. Like this." He clicked on a device nearby - a woman's cellphone. She was currently talking into it. "Now, from here, I can hack her calls, texts, even bank account." He pressed another button before her audio was being transmitted into the car. 

_'Dale, I don't care what she wants! She's five, I'm putting her in dance class! She'll love it and be thanking me for it later!'_

"...see?" Aiden smirked lightly, the situation sounded humorous as an outsider, but it felt...odd. 

"Isn't it weird peaking into the lives of others?" I asked him genuinely. I really wanted to know his thoughts. 

"Look at it this way: this is how I stop bad people from doing bad things. I have to peer into their personal lives in order to be the vigilante that I'm well known for being." Aiden explained before connecting into a different device - a nearby street camera. "Refreshing to see the world in a different angle. Here, give it a trial run." He mumbled quietly, letting me take the phone to maneuver the camera around. It was facing the parking lot and the front entrance to the bagel shop. I could pan up and down the street and sidewalks, even up to the sky. 

"Why....do you need access to the camera system?" I didn't think hacking would be this complex. 

"In case if I need to infiltrate without risking my own harm. I can tap into other cameras and even hackable objects through the camera. Or doing recon." His phone beeped, causing me to jump slightly. "Ah, food's ready." He climbed out of the car and went inside. He left his phone in my hands. 

At first, I wanted to honor his privacy. He was trusting me with his phone, which was his key to his 'job', if you could even call it a job. But the more I held it in my hand, the more curious I got. What _did_ he have on his phone? I unlocked it, and perused around on the home page, seeing what apps he had. Of course, he had the standard apps that all phones came with - camera, photo gallery, calendar, calling, messages, an internet browser and others. He had a few extra apps, like the hacking app he was showing me. Glancing up and around, I clicked on it and began exploring. 

I tried to recall what he showed me, looking around in real life to find a camera. But I clicked on the wrong thing. 

Suddenly, a pipe blew in the middle of the road, causing steam to erupt and chunks of pavement to go flying. Cars crashed and civilians fell over. I ducked for cover with a gasp, closing out of the app and tucking the phone close to me. The car door opened.

"What the hell happened?!" Aiden spoke loudly over the roar of the steam as he passed me a bag of food and placing two drinks in the console's cupholder. I stammered for an answer. 

"I-I don't know!" I fibbed, it was pretty convincing because I was pretty shocked as he was that it happened. "It just...happened so suddenly." With quick thinking, I placed his phone in the compartment of the center console. Hopefully Aiden will think he left it there. 

"Well, let's get out of here." Aiden quickly turned on the car before throwing it into reverse, being cognizant of the pedestrians around us as they stood back to watch the burst pipe spew hot steam into the air. Aiden drove the car out of the lot and away from the scene, driving through a tunnel.

"Wait, where are we going?" We had hopped onto a highway, taking us back to the Loop district. 

"Somewhere safe." He mumbled quietly, keeping his eyes on the road as he moved to the left lane to pass a few cars. "It's best we don't stay in one spot for too long. If Blume really is actively looking for you, they're going to try and ping you in any location." I supposed Aiden had a point. It was best to keep moving and not be a sitting duck. 

"So...where are you taking me?" I asked further. 

"It's a place where I know they can't reach. We can also trade in your phone. A new device, with all the hacking tools you need, not on Blume's system, _and_ on a VPN." He slightly teased. Well, I deduced only 10% of his tone was teasing. The other 90% was serious, not surprising. He pulled back into the right lane and off the highway, and turning down an unmarked road directly below the highway. He slowed his speed as we approached some people hovering by an oil drum with a fire coming from it. 

"What...is this place?" I asked. It looked run down, the people had dreary gazes. 

"That, is a homeless camp." Aiden drove onto a set of train tracks and approached the water front. "And _t_ _his_ is where we're headed." He picked up his phone and stared at the screen for a second, his brow furrowed. I held my breath before he pressed a button, the bridge ahead of us slowly swiveling into place. 

"An...old factory island?" I gave him a funny look as he looked at me with a half smile. 

"It's safe. And, a friend works here." He drove over the bridge and after disembarking, had the bridge swing back into place. The only way to get to and from the island now was by boat. 

"A....friend works in an abandoned, run down factory island?" I gave him another quizzical look as he drove along the railroad tracks, turning left to follow them up to a bunch of shipping crates. He rolled the car to a soft stop before turning off the ignition. 

"...you blew up the pipe, didn't you?" He sat perfectly still, his phone in his hand. I gulped, staying silent. Part of me wanted to lie, but the longer I stayed quiet, the more guilty I would look. 

"It wasn't my fault-" 

"I think you know better not to lie to a seasoned hacker." His voice was cold, so were his emerald eyes as he glanced over at mine. My thumbs fiddled in my lap. "To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I trusted you with my phone, my own personal property. And yet, you hacked into the system and potentially injured civilians in the process." 

"But isn't that what you do?!" I argued back, turning to face him. "I mean, whenever you run from the cops and have to do that-" 

"Hey." He snapped. "Those times are warranted. Yours was accidental by dicking around without my oversight." I went silent, my head dropping to my chest. It felt like my computer science lab classes all over again. The professor couldn't stand the idea of me doing my work alone and always paired me with someone else to make sure it was done correctly. I heard his car door open and then close. 

Aiden left me there to cry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who are all of you perceiving my self indulging fic?! o: Thanks for reading so far :D


	7. The Apology

Suddenly, I was alone, sitting in a car that he probably stole on an island that I couldn't leave. I bawled, I didn't think lying to him would have such an adverse reaction from him. I wasn't even given the chance to explain myself. He just...left. Didn't take the food or his drink with him, either. I was too busy sulking to see where he had gone. And I had no way of contacting him. 

I curled my good knee to my chest. I was too upset to eat at this point, even though I should've tried to eat my sandwich and get some nutrients in my system. 

"I'm sorry..." I spoke softly. I wasn't sure if he could hear my words at all, although I knew fully well he could probably hack into my phone or even the car to listen if he was so inclined. I was just speaking to the air at this point. "I...I didn't mean to lie..." My voice was dying, much like it would when I would be the fourth wheel on a group assignment - not allowed to give any input. I sat there for what felt like hours before my phone vibrated in my palm. 

**[INBOUND MESSAGE AT 11:38am FROM: Unknown Number]**

_'Step out of the vehicle.'_

I looked up and out the driver's side window to see Aiden, standing in front of a red shipping container. His upper body was leaned against it, his eyes resting on the car I was in. I assumed the text was from him as I slowly opened my car door and stepped out. Aiden was only a mere 20 feet from me, but his gaze was powerful. 

"Ready to tell me the truth?" He spoke, his voice carrying with ease, even though he wasn't shouting at me. Leaning my good leg against the hood of the car, I nodded. I was trying my best not to sob. 

"I....I'm sorry." I had to avert to looking at the ground. It was too painful to look him in the eye. "I just...wanted to try a-and hack the camera system like you did and...well...." I dropped my arms to my sides, feeling a tear roll down my reddened cheek. I then saw his two shoes in front of me, I didn't even hear him approach. 

"Look at me." He commanded softly, his hands in his trench coat pockets. Slowly but surely, I brought up my chin and eyes to look at him, even if it felt super awkward. "I need to trust you, okay? Trust is key in developing partnerships with other hackers and fixers. And if you break that trust? The community will swiftly exile you and make you off as an example." I shuddered to the idea, averting my eyes downward again. I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. "Lying to me doesn't build trust. I know it was a mistake...an accident...a misclick, whatever you want to call it. That doesn't change the fact that you tried to lie about it." 

"I-I'm sorry...." I mumbled almost incoherently, my feet fidgeting slightly. I wasn't good with confrontations in general, that's why I loved working behind a screen. 

"I know you are." Aiden paused with a deep sigh. "All I ask is that you don't interact with anything until you're more used to the technology, okay? Unless if I'm around." 

I shuddered once more. It honestly _was_ computer science lab all over again. My eyes shifted, arms folding. 

"Why are you not okay with that idea?" He suddenly asked me. I looked up at him in shock of how he so easily determined my feelings through a simple stance change. 

"W-What?" I tried to defend. Again, I didn't want to lie to him, but it was still some personal details he was going to be diving in on. 

"Your change in posture denotes that it's something you're defensive about." He mimicked what I did - the eye shift, the crossing of my arms, and even minute things I didn't pick up on, like my foot taking a slight slide backwards and expression change. "Your eyes shifted to the downwards left, meaning you were having internal dialogue with yourself about what I said, meaning you had to think about it, or perhaps recall a similar situation. Your folded arms and slight step backwards indicated a defensive position, meaning this topic of discussion is something you're not open to. Oh, and your facial expression? God Grey, you do not have a poker face." He chuckled once to the last sentence with a smirk. "Do you not like being looked over the shoulder?" 

"It's...not that, necessarily..." I maintained the same position but shifting my weight slightly from both legs, almost in a rocking motion as I stood there. My brain ran in circles, now becoming self conscious about all the little details he could easily pick up on. It wasn't even worth lying to him, or trying to. "I...often got...pushed aside on group projects or...paired with someone else because they didn't trust that I could handle the work..." 

"Any...particular reason why?" Aiden furrowed his brow, putting his hands back into his pockets, but now of his jeans. He seemed attentive - listening. He wanted to process what I was saying. "Is it because of your grades in that class?" 

"No..." 

"Because...you _had_ to work in a group?" 

"Sometimes, but even then I still got talked over..." 

"Because..." He was starting to run out of rational lines of thinking. "The professor knew you would work well together?" 

"No..." 

"Then why?" He exasperated slightly. 

"...because I'm a girl." I spoke with bitterness as I moved to sit on the car hood. Standing was causing a slight strain to my injured leg. I fidgeted with the hem of my sweatshirt, feeling Aiden sit down next to me as the car gave way to the weight. 

"...because you're a girl." He spoke before chuckling. "That, has got to be one of the misogynistic statements I've heard in a long time. Simply from looking at your grades and extracurricular activities, you are incredibly bright and intelligent." I blushed to his compliment as he paused. "Have you...told anyone about that? The Dean? Department Chair?" 

I shook my head. "No, they're all old and white and pretty traditional in their thinking..." It made me nearly gag. "I'm one of two females in the entire program. And I...it wore on me." 

"Was that a subliminal reason for you to quit?" I could tell Aiden was looking at me, but I couldn't bring myself to return the gaze. 

"Maybe, I dunno...I try not to think about it too often." I threw a piece of lint from the hoodie pocket onto the ground. "But it gets...hard, sometimes." 

"Do you think the hacking world is like that? Be honest." He asked, shifting the subject slightly. I finally looked at him as his gaze was now out at the sea of shipping crates. 

"Uhm...male dominated? Yeah. Sexist? I dunno..." 

Aiden chuckled. 

"Well, I know someone you'll be happy to meet." 


End file.
